Goya arrives at the Fine Arts Museum: the tapestries that had never traveled to America

In every face, every gesture, every embroidered thread, every chosen color, one perceives the hand of the transcendent artist that was the Spanish Francisco de Goya. The sensation of being very close to the imagination and brushwork of that great artist runs through every centimeter of the two tapestries that have arrived at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The exhibition opens tomorrow and will be open to the public from Tuesday, September 22. The works in question are "The Kite" (281 × 278 cm.) and "Blind Man's Buff" (289 × 350 cm.), made in wool and silk, which with great personality make up the small but striking exhibition Goya in Buenos Aires. Tapestries from the Royal Collections of Spain.

Until January 17, the museum will display these two pieces belonging to the Royal Collections of the Patrimonio Nacional of Madrid, as Clarín Cultura reported last week. The exhibition is part of the action plan of the International Council of Patrons of the Royal Collections and is being carried out with the support of the Fundación Callia. This is not the first time that pieces of this kind have come to our country. In 1928, several Goya tapestries traveled to Argentina, thanks to an initiative promoted by the then Royal Patrimony, to commemorate the centenary of the painter's death. Deeply moved by these pieces, the director of the Bellas Artes, Andrés Duprat, explained, as the final details of the room's installation were being completed: "After some conversations, the Royal Collections offered us a menu of works we could request, and when we saw there were two Goya tapestries, we asked for them, thinking it wouldn't be possible. They said yes, and we immediately imagined placing them here, in this room adjacent to the Museum's Goyas, with which they are integrated: you can see these textiles and then the paintings and the classic prints." He added: "The museum's heritage collection of Goya's works began to take shape in 1906, when the Museum's founder, Eduardo Schiaffino, acquired an initial set of four prints in Europe. Over time, that nucleus was expanded with other paintings and complete series of etchings."

"Blind Man's Buff" was made between 1789 and 1803, and "The Kite" between 1778 and 1801; both underwent a similar production process: they were woven by the Real Fábrica de Tapices de Santa Bárbara based on cartoons made by Goya with the collaboration of experts in various skills, commissioned to decorate rooms in the royal palaces during the reigns of Carlos III and Carlos IV. "The importance of this exhibition is manifold, as it combines artistic excellence, historical memory, and a willingness for cultural dialogue. It constitutes a highly significant event for the Galería de las Colecciones Reales, because it is the first time that two of its most important pieces have been received as Guest Works at an institution on the American continent, within a program conceived to give international reach to one of the most important heritage collections in Europe," explains from Madrid the director of the Royal Collections of the Patrimonio Nacional and of the Galería de las Colecciones Reales, Víctor Cageao. This is the first time the Galería de las Colecciones Reales has loaned a work to the Americas.

But for the result to be what was sought, the artist and the weavers needed to understand each other's work. The painters had to define the figures and contrasts of light knowing that they would later be transferred to fabric; the craftsmen, for their part, had to translate the language of painting into another medium, using wool and silk. "Without that collaboration, the tapestries would never have achieved the extraordinary level of quality we admire today," Cageao maintains.

The tapestries designed by Goya constitute a remarkable part of the Spanish Royal Collections. Between 1775 and 1792, Goya, the Aragonese artist, produced designs for seven large series intended for different rooms in the palaces of El Pardo and San Lorenzo de El Escorial, with the aim of renewing courtly decoration. Previously, these works depicted mythological, historical or allegorical subjects. Goya did something different: he brought scenes of everyday life into the palaces — popular games, walks, festivities, rural entertainments and leisure moments. Goya had a perfect understanding of the spirit of the age, shaped by the ideas of the Enlightenment, when there was a growing interest in depicting customs, activities and aspects of daily life.

"Blind Man's Buff," for example, was conceived for the bedchamber of the infantas in the Royal Palace of El Pardo and is one of Goya's most celebrated compositions. The artist pays particular attention to the naturalness of the figures, the casual dress and the balanced relationship between landscape and architecture. It is currently on display at the Gallery of the Royal Collections.

"The Kite," meanwhile, was created for the dining room of the Prince and Princess of Asturias at the Royal Palace of El Pardo. It shows several young people playing in a park or field. Goya combines the naturalness of the figures with the richness of their clothing. It is currently housed at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, where it forms part of the decoration of the former theatre of the residence.

Cageao advises: "I would recommend pausing, first of all, to appreciate the weavers' incredible ability to reproduce color transitions and lighting effects. From a certain distance one sees a complete scene, but as we draw closer, we discover a complex web of textures and nuances. It is also worth observing the gestures and arrangement of the figures, the elegance of the clothing, the presence of the landscape... All of these are artistic gestures that allow us to understand the enduring interest of these works more than two hundred years after they were created."

"There is always that very particular gaze of Goya's, even within these scenes that appear festive on the surface, yet include small details that go beyond what one can see at first glance. It is interesting to understand — and we are going to place emphasis on this — that there is a journey through two very different periods of the artist," adds Mariana Marchesi, curator of the MNBA.

For the president of Patrimonio Nacional, Ana de la Cueva, "Projects of this magnitude would not be possible without the support of patrons committed to the conservation and dissemination of heritage. The International Council of Patrons of the Royal Collections and the Fundación Callia have made this loan possible, and that public-private collaboration is increasingly the means by which our collections gain international reach."

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos, March 30, 1746 – Bordeaux, April 16, 1828) was a Spanish painter and engraver. His work encompasses easel and mural painting, engraving, and drawing. His style evolved from Rococo, through Neoclassicism, to pre-Romanticism. "In general, when we think of Goya we tend to recall scenes of war, royal portraits, or stormy situations, but in the tapestries we find another equally extraordinary facet: a luminous Goya, attentive to everyday life and capable of turning simple scenes into very modern, spontaneous, natural works. Nevertheless, they contain a very direct observation of reality, a way of organizing space and figures that anticipates many solutions we will later see in his mature painting. The capacity to capture the life of a character is already present in these works, which is why I say this is a different Goya, but one who is fully recognizable," argues Cageao.

The loan of these works to Bellas Artes is the first step of a program that aspires to extend to other countries on the American continent, as a testament to the shared history between Spain and Latin America. "Each loan is evaluated with strict technical criteria, and only works that can travel without risk do so. Within that framework, our obligation is to bring these collections to as many audiences as possible, including outside Spain," explains Ana de Cuevas. She concludes by conceptualizing the meaning of this practice: "A work of art that is never shown loses part of its purpose. Rigorous protection and public presence wherever conditions allow are, together, the way to keep cultural heritage alive."

Details:

- Exhibition: Goya in Buenos Aires. Tapestries from the Royal Collections of Spain.

- Where: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Avenida del Libertador 1473.

- Dates: September 22, 2026 to January 17, 2027.